The Best of Me
by Books In the Blood
Summary: Henry though he'd be alone forever; he thought it was best that way. A year after finding Abigail and Abe, he reflects on the happiest year of his long, immortal life and gives Abigail a suprise. This was written for truthisademurelady on Tumblr who requested "Morgan Family" for the Henry's 236th birthday gift exchange.


Henry was warm and cocooned in the blankets as he drowsily woke up. Reluctant to greet the day, he closed his eyes in the dim light of the early morning, reaching his arms out for the warm press of the body lying next to him. Abigail stirred ever so slightly as Henry pulled her flush to his chest but relaxed in a second as Henry laid his head in the crook of Abigail's neck. His face lay against her soft, smooth, blonde hair and Henry felt content as he took in the sweet smell of it. It was all so new, this waking up with someone he loved that sometimes he still thought he was dreaming it all. Abigail was like a treasure he had found throughout the decades of loneliness and she was one that had been worth waiting for.

Henry had just begun to drift off when he heard discontented sounds drifting through the wall. Henry hoped that Abe was just stirring and held his breath as the whiny sounds turned into full blown cries; Abe was definitely up for the day.

Abigail rolled away from Henry as she woke up and tried to make the effort to get up but Henry gently pulled her back into bed. "I'll get him" Henry whispered as Abigail lay back down on the bed. Abigail always insisted on getting up with Abe but this time she seemed too tired to argue and Henry was glad. He smiled as he tucked the covers in tightly around Abigail. She looked so peaceful, so calm when she slept; he was even more aware of her youth and beauty then than even when she was awake. Feeling a surge of affection for her, Henry leaned down and pressed his lips against Abigail's forehead before walking out of their room and into Abe's.

Abe's cries certainly didn't grow any quieter in the time that it took Henry to come to his aide; if anything they had grown more persistent. Abe was generally a happy baby but he certainly had a good set of lungs and he used them to let you know very clearly when he wasn't happy about something. Henry could see Abe's little head poking up over the top of the bars of his crib, looking miserably out as he held on tight with one hand and rubbed his face with the other. When he noticed Henry, he quieted down, though he still whimpered until he was sure that Henry was going to pick him up.

"Now, Abe, don't you know you're supposed to let Mommy sleep at least a little bit longer on Mother's Day?" Henry asked with a smile as he picked Abe. As he cradled Abe against his chest comfortably all cries and whimpers stopped. "She always gets up with you early in the mornings but it looks like you're stuck with me today."

Abe's small fingers reached out and grabbed Henry's hair, pulling hard. "Now, I'm not that bad" Henry teased, as if Abe knew what he was saying as he pried his fingers away. Abe was in that hair pulling stage and anyone was fair game; it was always worse for Abigail.

Henry bounced Abe slightly as he walked to the kitchen, trying to be as quiet as possible. He held his breath as set Abe down on a blanket on the floor with a couple of toys. He almost expected Abe to start crying again. But with a glance up toward Henry to make sure that he was still there, Abe seemed content to grab a bunch of plastic rings and begin to shake them enthusiastically.

Henry smiled as he watched Abe shake the toy with excitement before suddenly deciding to have nothing to do with it and throwing it across the blanket in distain before grabbing a plastic duck and stuffing it in his mouth.

Sometimes Henry would just watch Abe for long stretches of time before he forced himself to get something done. He'd always wanted to be a father back before he was immortal. Back in those days becoming a parent was just expected and he was sure that it would happen shortly after he and Nora had married. They hadn't had a lot of time together before he left on the Empress of Africa but he was still surprised that they had never had children. Had he lived normally with her and they hadn't had children it would have been a major disappointment. After he became an immortal, his dreams of becoming a father had to die, like so many other of his dreams. He couldn't burden a wife and a child with his dangerous secret; he couldn't trust anyone with it either. He'd always made a rule to keep people at a certain distance for their safety and his own.

Abe had made him break that rule. At first, he hadn't realized what was happening to him. After a miracle baby had been discovered in the concertation camps and Henry had given him a clean bill of health, he still found that he couldn't stop thinking about him. He started to make excuses to go visit him in the hospital, would think about him at night and wonder how he was; he hadn't realized that small, impossible baby was making his way into Henry's heart. Abigail kept prodding him to adopt Abe but she didn't know his reservations. Each day it began to get harder and harder to say no until eventually it became impossible. Henry didn't believe in fate or chance but it just seemed like Abe and he were supposed to be together; they were both impossible things that had no one else but each other.

And just as quickly as Abe had made his way into Henry's heart, so had Abigail. He'd had plenty of very short relationships over his long life but after what had happened with Nora, he had told himself that he would never get close to another person, certainly not close enough to share his secret. He had thought that Abigail would be the same; every time they went out Henry told himself that it would be the last time. But Henry just couldn't force himself to stay away from her and eventually he was able to figure out why that was. When Henry realized that he had come to love Abigail, he tried to leave; it was the only way that he could put distance between them. Abigail had surprised him by chasing him; no one ever had before. They'd lived in bliss for a few months before Henry had had to face the terrible truth of his secret. He'd been irresponsible, living with Abigail and Abe without thought to how it would feel when his secret came out.

Or…..so he thought. When he had died in Abigail's arms, he was sure that was the end of their relationship. But, yet again, Abigail wouldn't let him go. He'd never dreamed that someone could not only believe his secret, but fully accept him in it. Abigail had broken the mold on all accounts.

So, after all his trying to run away, he finally accepted it was okay to settle down and be with Abigail and Abe. It had been one of the happiest years of his long life. Abigail was not only the perfect partner for him but she was a natural mother to Abe. She worked tirelessly around the house, only giving into help when Henry forced her to relax. He knew that Abe was a happy, well-adjusted child after his terrible trauma not because of what Henry had done but Abigail's loving mothering.

It was the least Henry could to try and make her feel special on her very first Mother's Day. Really nothing he could do would make up for all that Abigail did but he wanted to do something to make Abigail feel special. It wasn't easy to pull off a surprise when you lived in such a small apartment but Henry was trying. He'd picked up a beautiful gold necklace with Abe's birthstone in it and managed to sneak it into the house in his brief case. When Abigail had gone out to get groceries the evening before, Henry had had Abe scribble a card for her that he had 'translated' as saying "Happy Mother's Day from Abe" which was hidden with the necklace. But making breakfast feet from Abigail and not waking her up was quite a feat.

Quietly as he could, Henry managed to get pancakes, eggs and bacon on a plate while Abigail still slept. He was grateful that Abe seemed to be cooperating for him; he had made a game of throwing his toys across the blanket and crawling to chase them, happily amusing himself. Henry arranged the food on the tray along with Abe's card and the necklace.

"Alright, Abe. Ready to go wake up Mommy?" Henry asked as he lifted Abe up. Abe smiled and babbled happily as Henry balanced him on one arm, balancing the tray on the other hand.

Henry crept back into the bedroom, smiling at Abigail's calm, sleeping form in the bed. Henry sat Abe down on the bed next to Abigail before sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"Happy Mother's Day" Henry said brightly as he gave Abigail a gentle shake to wake her. Abe chose that moment to give her hair a hard pull; it wasn't exactly the best wakeup call but it seemed appropriate somehow.

"What is this?" Abigail asked drowsily but happy as she opened her eyes and sat up in bed. Abe bounced excitedly on the bed next to her, reaching out toward her. Abigail grabbed Abe and cradled him against her as she looked back at Henry and the Mother's Day breakfast.

"I know that breakfast in bed can hardly make up for the many things that you do every day" Henry said. "But Abe and I thought it was the least we could do."

"You and Abe?" Abigail asked with a smile. "You two had a discussion about it?"

"Naturally it was all his idea" Henry joked. "We discussed it at length."

Abigail laughed. She looked down at the tray. "Well, it looks and smells delicious" she said. She picked up the card. "And you made this all by yourself. Thank you Abe" Abigail gave Abe a warm hug before setting him on the bed next to her.

"What's this?" Abigail asked curiously, taking the box with her necklace on it.

"Well, have a look inside." Henry said, eager to see if she liked it.

Henry watched as Abigail opened the box and looked inside and saw her face light up as she took it out. "Henry, it's beautiful" Abigail enthused. "But you really shouldn't have…it looks so expensive"

"I really should have and I did" Henry said, giving her a broad smile as he moved her hair away from her neck and helped her put the necklace on. He knew that it was a tough time for them financially but that was even more reason to treat Abigail. He had felt, at times, like he'd dragged her here to America and was just barely scrapping by in this tiny little flat. But she never complained; she just looked at the budget and always found ways to save them money.

Henry leaned toward Abigail, giving her a long, slow kiss. "I love you so much, Abigail" Henry said, looking into her eyes as he pulled away. "You deserve more than I could possibly give you. This past year with you and Abe has been one of the best ones in my long life."

Abigail shook her head with a smile, as if she didn't quite believe it. "It's true, though" Henry said. "Living as long as I do, it doesn't mean anything if you don't have someone to share it with. You brought our family together, Abigail. If it was left up to me and stubbornness, I would never have gotten to experience how great family came be. You have really changed my life completely."

Abigail grabbed a squirming Abe up before giving Henry a kiss. "Well, there was no way we were going to let you go" she said, looking at Henry with a smile as Abe reached a hand toward Henry.

He felt so complete; he couldn't believe that he had fought this for so long. There was so much to worry about in his future and the complications that his immortality would bring to his new family. But right now all he could do was see the good things he finally had in front of him.


End file.
